Have the Moonies Infiltrated Afghanistan?







From Yahoo News:



Afghan boys sell seasonal flowers to motorists passing on the highway to Kabul, southwest of Bagram, Afghanistan, on Wednesay, April 9, 2003. The flower, locally known as laula, grows wild in the fields surrounding the villages and highway, some of which are still covered with anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, posing a risk to the population.

Nuns on the Run in Italy



From Yahoo! News :



Italian police said on Wednesday they were scouring the countryside for four nuns after a hit-and-run accident near the northern city of Bergamo.



The nuns, behind the wheel of a Citroen, ignored a stop sign at a crossroads and plowed into a Mercedes driven by a 63-year-old man, who escaped uninjured.

Instead of stopping as Italian law requires, the nuns sped off before anyone could even get a glimpse of their car registration.

Russian's Deny It



From Ananova - Russia says Saddam 'not at embassy':



Russia has denied reports that Saddam Hussein has been given refuge at the Russian Embassy in Baghdad.



A spokesman said the report "absolutely does not correspond with reality".



"Such statements absolutely do not and cannot correspond with reality," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said.

"This is an attempt yet another time to place the Russian Embassy in Baghdad under threat."

Al Jazeera Reports Hussein Has Taken Refuge in the Russian Embassy

WHAT?







Pope John Paul shown here posing with a group of Italian Army soldiers said..." " (feel free to add your humorous comment)



You probably haven't heard anything about what the Pope condemned yesterday.



From Yahoo News:



Pope John Paul appealed to Congolese leaders on Wednesday to bring an end to "massacres and summary executions" in the African country where nearly 1,000 civilians were reported killed by rival tribesmen last week.



"I make a grief-stricken appeal to the responsible politicians...to commit themselves to stop the violence and abuses of power, putting aside personal interests and those of groups, with the cooperation of the international community," the 82-year-old Roman Catholic leader told pilgrims gathered in St Peter's Square.



Witnesses told U.N. investigators 966 civilians were shot and hacked to death on Thursday in the Ituri province in what may have been the worst atrocity in the Democratic Republic of Congo's 4-1/2 year war.



It occurred a day after a final peace deal was signed by leading parties involved in the many-sided conflict, which at one point involved six foreign armies.

Thanks!



Thanks to Nancy Nall for linking to this blog yesterday and for mentioning my Mass book which she rightly identified as a kind of "dummies" book for Catholics. Nancy always has a unique take on life in these parts and is a worthy read everyday!

A Freed Baghdad Looks A Lot Like Detroit







From Yahoo News:



Witnessing Saddam Hussein's power slip away, hundreds of Iraqis rushed to take everything else Wednesday: They used pickup trucks and wheelbarrows to haul off everything from refrigerators to flower pots from government ministries, police stations and state companies.



Emboldened by the sight of U.S. troops taking control of the capital, they dared not only to loot but also to rejoice over Saddam's fall, to vandalize his image and to call him a criminal -- offenses that just days or weeks ago could have brought arrest, imprisonment, torture, even death at the hands of the secret police.